Introduction

Developing a Mobile application that fits your budget in economic terms can be a tedious task. You need to build an app with minimum costs but cannot afford to compensate with its quality and performance. We have created a guide that covers every aspect from product development to app monetization. Let's break down the process in simple steps that will help you develop a mobile app at affordable prices.

How to build a budget-friendly Mobile App in 2022

1. Define your purpose for the app

There are different reasons for creating a mobile app. You might be building your brand, broadening your opportunities, providing solutions to businesses, or creating a way to engage with the consumers. This purpose would decide your marketing strategy and UX/UI design. In monetary terms, more time would amount to more money. Remember this while determining the app design.

2. Select an Ideal Platform

You might be wondering, how much does it cost to create a Native vs hybrid app? Make a wise decision here. You can choose a platform (Android/iOS) as per your plan. The app development costs of Android are higher than iOS since the app design varies from screen to screen. If you're looking to cover both platforms at an economical price, you can go for cross-platform coding. Cross-platform apps work for both Android and iOS without changing the back-end codes. Isn't that amazing?

3. In-house or Outsourcing?

Who would design the app? Would you hire someone to work at your office or outsource it? An innovative solution would be outsourcing your requirements to a reputed mobile app development company. Your expenses on infrastructure, machines, and technology would save up.

With in-house experts, you're responsible for handling their technological requirements, which would increase the overall mobile app development budget. Be assured that outsourcing doesn't compromise on the quality of the output. When you hire the top mobile app developers, you can relax and focus on other essential tasks at hand.

4. Types and Features

The next step to develop a mobile app is defining a list of features/functionalities for your app. This has a more significant impact on your mobile app development budget. If you're going for more advanced and complicated features, the pricing will rise.

With a low budget, you can include the essential elements required for proper functioning like signup/login, payment gateway, search bar, push notifications, and such. If you're looking for a custom app development, there would be a surge in the prices as per your needs.

5. Setting goals and evaluating Profits

Every business operation follows a specific revenue plan. When you create a tentative app idea, you would briefly understand it's time to pay off the service charges and cover the investment. You might need some part of your mobile app development budget to be saved for marketing or adding new features after a while. This will provide you with a rough idea of the app revenue.

6. App Submission Fee

Once the app is developed and ready to launch, you need to pay off the submission charges. For Android, there is a one-time payment of $25 for the Google Play Store. For iOS, the app submission fee goes to $99. The cost for Windows is the lowest - $12; it allows the developer to have an individual or a company account with varying advantages.

If you're availing of Mobile application development services, ensure that your developers understand the app submission's latest terms and policies. This is essential for the app to be launched without any difficulty.

Investment in App Marketing?

Maintain a part of your budget for marketing. You hired the top mobile app developers to create a fantastic app that has been launched successfully. But, this isn't enough. If you're wondering that word of mouth would bring you thousands of users, you would be waiting for years.

In the 21st century, you have multiple marketing channels like radio, television, newspaper, digital websites, social media platforms, and more. The type of marketing channel you'll choose depends on your target audience research. Choose a medium they use frequently.

You don't have to start from scratch. If you're targeting the youth who's active on social media, you can hire bloggers and influencers for paid promotions. The audience trusts their influencers, and half of them would check your website or purchase the product.

A smart move would be going for authentic social media influencers. This way, people would trust your brand, converting them into loyal customers over time. You can excite your brand a month before the launch. This would create a market that's waiting for the launch and would provide you with loyal customers.

Statistics show that 40% of people responded to social media ads, 30% to website display ads, and 20% through sponsored story links. Direct Mails and Promotional emails work too if you have the right marketing strategy to attract consumers.

For example: In the case of an email, you need a strong hook for the subject so that users open your email. The investment will be a waste if they don't even open the email. We don't want that to happen. Invest in a budget-friendly copywriter if you're going for this channel of marketing.

The app maintenance cost also depends on types of features and technology advancement.

Conclusion

When looking to develop a mobile app on a lower budget, we recommend availing mobile application services from the top mobile app developers. The vast and successful brands worked with the best mobile app development company in the industry. It's best to define the app's cost per install for meeting your decided mobile app development budget. The prices generally range between $1 to $6, but it depends on the ad platform.

Choose features/functionalities for your app that would cover your app's essential services at an affordable cost. While doing your target audience research, also check for competitors' mobile apps. See what's going wrong with their app to avoid such mishaps with your app and refrain from paying different prices. The best way to develop a mobile app at a minimum budget is by hiring the top mobile app developers. They will help grow your company with their skills, creativity, and intelligent strategies.